Yvonne arrived alongside husband, Ian (Jeffrey Thomas), as the mother of lesbian nurse, Maia Jeffries (Anna Jullienne).

Yvonne proved disappointed at Maia's sexuality and in comparison she was proud of her other daughters Libby (Fleur Saville) and Tania (Faye Smythe).

Following the death of Ian, Yvonne went on to have several more love interests, with the most high profile being that of Tania's ex-boyfriend, Ben Goodall (Shaun Edwards-Brown), who also ended up dying.

Yvonne's maternal and kind nature saw her establish several core friendships on the show, primarily with Brenda Holloway (Katherine McRae), Gerald Tippett (Harry McNaughton) and Shobna Kumari (Leela Patel).

Alison Quigan was approached by producers to take on the roll of Yvonne, the mother of established character, Maia Jeffries (Anna Jullienne).

[3] In 2010 Alison Quigan decided to quit the show and found it easy considering the recent departures of two of the three Jeffries girls, Tania and Libby, she stated; "The family had come to a finish.

In May 2012 it was announced that Yvonne would be returning to the show alongside the remaining members of the Jeffries family to commemorate Shortland Street's 20th anniversary.

Yvonne had a short lived relationship with Sammy Diamond (Andy Anderson) and was devastated when she lost several friends to the serial killer dubbed The Ferndale Strangler.

In 2008 Yvonne started to date Fraser (Peter Daube) but was injured by his wife Deborah (Susan Curnow), who had Alzheimer's disease, and following surgery, developed cancer from a faulty skin graft.

They ended up staying for a longer period when Libby's (Fleur Saville) husband Gerald Tippett (Harry McNaughton) suffered heart failure.

In 2009, Shaun Edwards-Brown was cast as the role of Ben Goodall, a paramedic Yvonne meets whilst caught in a bank robbery.

[9] Alison Quigan was shocked by the storyline and stated; "I thought she still hadn’t got over her relationship with Fraser McKenzie and was just biding her time with her family.

[14] Quigan found the reaction to Yvonne's relationship with Ben interesting, stating; "I was quite surprised people had such strong opinions about it.